Charred remains of a home in the Shannon Estates subdivision near Heritage Heights School are all that remain after an early morning blaze on Feb. 20. No one was injured in the fire, but it’s estimated to have caused more than $1 million in damage.

Jordan Verlage/OWW

No one was harmed, but a fire that destroyed a home in the Heritage Heights area has likely left more than a million dollars in damage.

One person was in the home at the time and they were able to safely get out of the home. However, the home was completely destroyed in the blaze.

“Based on the relative houses in the area, we’re probably looking at probably close to a million,” said Gregg Schaalje, MD of Foothills Fire department deputy chief.

Foothills MD firefighters were first called to the blaze at a home in the Shannon Estates subdivision at 2:22 a.m. on Feb. 20.

Schaalje said the attic was fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters showed up.

By that point, he said it was too dangerous to send firefighters inside the home and firefighters battled the blaze from the outside.

“We’re not going to send firefighters inside the structure due to the roof structure being compromised because of fire,” said Schaalje.

He said the first firefighters arrived on the scene eight minutes after the call.

However, Schaalje said the fire was so intense by the time the emergency call came in that it wouldn’t have made much difference.

“The building would have been in the same state today, as we see it, whether we had an engine one minute away, or under eight minutes away,” he said.

Firefighters spent 23 hours on scene battling the fire and hotspots, before leaving the scene at 1:11 a.m. on Feb. 11. Firefighters from Okotoks and High River had to be called in to help fight the blaze.

Schaalje said the fire started somewhere in the attic, but the cause of the blaze is not known at this time.

“The actual homeowner reported flames coming out of the ceiling,” he said.

Schaalje said it’s not suspicious in nature.

“The fire is still under investigation at this time,” he said.

One person was in the home at the time and they were able to safely get out of the home. However, the home was completely destroyed in the blaze.

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